Working in a London nursery school, I have always felt very aware of the history behind, in and around it. It is more than 150 years since the great German teacher Friedrich Froebel invented the 'kindergarten' and explicitly recognised the importance of the child's activity in learning. It struck me how radical a way of thinking that still is, when the compere at last year's Early Years Professionals conference described young children as 'like an empty vessel ready to be filled'.
You can make your own choice between seeing children as fancy packages, ready to have stuff poured into them, or as inquisitive and thoughtful beings in their own right. I would choose Froebel every time.
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